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FERRIDAY, La.  — Ferriday came out of the tunnel with a smoke flare and smoked Vidalia’s defense through the air as the Trojans beat the Vikings 34-6 on Friday.

Ferriday (3-2) hoisted the Concordia Parish Classic trophy for the third straight year after the LSHAA 2A District game. The Vikings (3-2) have not won the matchup since 2017.

The Trojans swarmed to the ball on defense throughout the game. On offense, they were explosive and made plays. Ferriday opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on a three yard rush by junior running back CJ Reed. 

Quarterback Caleb Ellis extended the lead to 14-0 on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Paityn Collins with 8:52 in the second quarter. Ellis, a junior quarterback, finished the game with three passing touchdowns, all to sophomore receiver Collins. 

“We are still on top and always will be,” Ellis said. “It isn’t a rivalry when Vidalia isn’t winning.” 

Vidalia cut the lead to 14-6 on a two minute touchdown drive with 6:07 left in the second quarter. Senior running back Kabari Davis scored on a 8-yard touchdown rush where he trucked a few Trojan players to fight into the endzone. 

Collins was Ferriday’s explosive weapon as he created separation to get open for a touchdown to take a 22-6 lead into halftime. He caught the 20-yard toss from Ellis with 12 seconds left in the second quarter. 

“It feels good to help my team and means a lot to win the Classic,” Collins said after the game. “My second touchdown catch was my favorite tonight. I felt like it was a difficult catch to make between two defenders. I was able to catch the pass and score. I’m thankful for my offensive line, quarterback and wide receiver for helping me get open.” 

Ellis found Collins on a 30-yard pass into the corner of the endzone to give the Trojans a 28-6 lead with 6:32 in the third quarter. Vidalia attempted several fake punts to try and pick up first downs and score but were unsuccessful in cutting into the Trojan lead. 

Reid returned a punt down to inside the 10 yard line to set up Ferriday’s last touchdown of the game. Taevion Edwards, a junior running back, capped off the game with a 7-yard rush to make it a four possession lead. Vidalia trailed 34-6 with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter with little hope of a comeback.

It was a dominant win for the Trojans as they head into a big matchup at General Trass next week. Vidalia will have to rebound from the tough loss when they play Mangham at home. Kickoff for both games is at 7 p.m. 

Collins said he feels they can beat Tensas Parish if they fix mistakes and take care of business. 

“I expect to get a win. We just have to do our job right and come out with the win. We can accomplish anything,” Collins said. “Hopefully we will go back to state and win. I feel like we are going to state if we keep working hard and remain dedicated.”